Turbine.



Patented Feb. 25, 1913.

J. L. MOORE.

TURBINE.

'Wwhm, J [W APPLICATION FILED DBG.17, 1912.

wi/lmeom vwanito'o UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES L. MOORE, OF WELLSVILLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO KERR TURBINE COM- PANY, OF WELLSVILLE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TURBINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES L. MOORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wellsville, in the county of Allegany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Turbine- Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to elastic fluid turbines and more particularly to that class of steam turbines which are of the velocity stage type, having substantially a rotatable wheel provided with radially arranged blades having intermediate partitions or webs to form a plurality of independent circular and concentric rows of buckets with which nozzles cooperate, and having arranged in connection with the nozzles and buckets a series of curved return passages oppositely disposed from the direction of rotation of the wheel and on both sides of said buckets, whereby the motive fluid is passed at an angle into and through one set of outer buckets, and then backwardly, and through a greater angle on the opposite sideof the rotatable wheel, into the next inner row of buckets, and repeating the foregoing operations a plurality of times, if'so deslred, depending upon the number of concentric rows of buckets, before finally discharging the motive fluid from the wheel through-the final exhaust.

The object of the invention is to construct and arrange the nozzle with the several rows of buckets and return passages, so that the return passages will be entirely independent of the arrangement of the. nozzles, thereby permitting the return passages to be placed at any angle with respect to the plane of the wheel carrying the buckets, without interfering with the nozzles, or their angular arrangement with respect to the wheel.

The invention consists of features of novelty which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which the same reference characters-indicate the-same parts in the several figures of drawing; Figure 1 is a fragment-a1 sectional elevation of a turbine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a partial section along line IIII-of Fig. 1 with parts broken away to show return pas sages on a difierent plane; Fig. 3 is a section on line III'III of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a section on line IVIV of Fig. 2.

The turbine illustrated as embodying my invention is provided with a casing 1 having an admission chamber 2, and exhaust 3. R0- tatably supported in said casing 1 by means of a shaft 4 is a wheel 5, having near its periphery a series of independent and concentric rows of buckets 6, 7, 8, separated by ribs 9. Said buckets are arranged radially and so proportioned that the buckets 6 of the outer row are smaller in cross sectional area thanthe buckets 7 of the adjacent row, and buckets 8 are larger than buckets 7. The buckets are also so constructed that the angle of inlet of the motive fluid for the outer row of bucket-s 6 is such as to properly receive the high steam velocity and the angle of the adjacent row of buckets 7 is slightly larger than that of 6, while the angle of the next row of buckets 8 is larger than that of row 7, to accommodate the same to slower steam velocity at this point of the wheel.

The buckets6, 7 and 8, may be made by drop forge out of steel with the dividing ribs 9 as part of the buckets, and; fastened to the wheel in any suitable manner not .necessary to' be further described, or shown, as it is well understood by those skilled in the art and forms 'no part of the present'invention.

The numeral 10 indicates one of a series of diverging expanding nozzles arranged at an angle to the plane of the wheel 5 and communicates with the admission chamber 2, for the purpose of leading the motive fluid into one side of the outer row of buckets 6, at acertain and predetermined angle, while 11 represents a series of semi-circular stationary reversing or return passages on the opposite side of the wheel 5 and buckets 6 and 7, from that of the nozzles 10, and adapted to receive the motive fluid after it has passed through buckets 6 and turn the same back- Wardly in a direction opposite to the move ment of the wheel 5, indicated by the arrow m on Fig. 2, and then forwardly in the same direction as the rotation of the wheel 5 into the next series of bucket-s 7, and at an angle to the plane of the wheel 5, greater than the angle made by the expanding nozzle 10 to said wheel 5. (See Fig. 2.)

The numeral 12 represents a similar series of return passages as that of 11, on the opposite side of the wheel 5 from that of the passages 11, and situated out of the way of and nearer the center of the wheel than the nozzles 10. Said passages 12 areadapted to receive the motive fluid passing out of the buckets 7 and lead said fluid backwardly in a direction opposite to the rotation of the wheel 5 and then forwardly in the same direction as the wheel, in the same manner as described with reference to passages 11, and into the inner row of buckets 8, when finally said fluid passes to the exhaust 3, as indicated by the arrows. Said return passages 12, as will be seen in Fig. 2, are arranged to makea greater angle with respect to the plane of the wheel 5 than that of the return passages 11, for the purpose of permitting the fluid to enter said buckets 8 and insure the highest efliciency.

The operation of the invention is as fol lows z-The motive fluid, such as steam, is supplied to the admission chamber 2 from whence it passes to the expanding nozzles 10. After the fluid has been expanded through the specially constructed diverging nozzle 10, the steam with a velocity about twentyeight hundred feet per second, passes into the outer buckets 6 at an efficient angle previously determined. After passing out of the buckets 6 the steam is reversed or turned back, and forward, by the return ,passages 11, and passed into the row of buckets 7 at a greater angle than by the nozzle 10, to the opposite side of the wheel, where said steam is reversed a second time, as above described, by the passages 12, and again passed through the wheel or into buckets 8, at a greater anglethan when passed into buckets 7, and then out of the exhaust 3. This operation may be repeated if so desired, by increasing the number of concentric rows of buckets on the wheel.

From the foregoing disclosure and operation it will be seen that the steam is initially passed into the outer section of the wheel which has the greatest linear velocity at the time when the steam has its maximum velocity, and hence under the most favorable conditions. The steam as it passes through the series of buckets diminishes in its velocity and moves in harmony with the speed of the wheel at that point of its passage, and thereby avoids unnecessary friction and drag, which greatly reduce the efiiciency of the turbine. Furthermore by having the return passages 12 out of possible contact with the nozzle 10 and nearer the center of the wheel 5, said return passages 12 and nozzles 10 can be made at any angle with respect to the plane of the wheel 5, without each interfering with the other, andhence with this wide latitude of angular disposition of said nozzles 10 and return passages 12, the maximum efliciency for any given speed of wheel and fluid pressure can be easily accomplished.

What I claim is a 1. An elastic fluid turbine comprising a casing formed with an admission chamber and exhaust for the motive fluid, a shaft, a rotatable wheel in said casing and secured to said shaft, a series of independent concentric rows of buckets on said wheel, a nozzle discharging the motive fluid from the admission chamber into the outermost row of buckets at an angle to the plane of the wheel,, a series of stationary return passages arranged on the opposite side of the wheel from said nozzle to receive the motive fluid and conduct said fluid first backwardly in .a direction opposite to the rotation of the wheel, and then forwardly into theadjacent row of buckets at a greater angle to the plane of the wheel than said nozzle, a second series of return passages on the opposite side of the wheel from that of the first series of return passages and disposed in juxtaposition to the adjacent row of buckets and nearer to the center of the wheel than the expanding nozzle, said secondseries of return passages arranged to, receive the motive fluid from said adjacent row of buckets and conduct the same first back wardly in a direction opposite to that of the rotation of the wheel and then forwardl into the neigt succeeding and'inwardly ad jacent row of buckets at a greater angle to the plane of the wheel than the first series of return passages.

2. An elastic fluid turbine comprising a casing formed with an admission chamber and exhaust for the motive fluid, a shaft, a rotatable wheel in said casing and secured to said shaft, a series of independent concentric rows of buckets on said wheel, each successiv'e row of buckets having a progressive increase of inlet and discharge angles for the motive fluid, a diverging expanding nozzle discharging the motive fluid from the admission chamber into the outermost row of buckets at an angle to the plane of-the wheel, a series of stationary return passages arranged on the oppdsite side of the wheel from said nozzle to receive the motive. fluid and conduct said fluid first backwardly in a direction opposite to the rotation of the wheel, and then forwardly into the adjacent row of buckets at a greater angle to the plane of the wheel than said nozzle, a second series of return passages on the opposite side of the wheel from that of the first series ofvreturn passages and disposed in juxtaposition to the adjacent row of buckets and nearer to the center of the wheel than the expanding nozzle, said second series of return passages arranged to receive the motive fluid from said adjacent row of buckets and conduct the same first back- 'wardly in a direction op osite to that of the rotation of the whee and then forwardly into the next succeeding and inwardly adjacent row of buckets at a greater angle to the plane of the wheel than the first series of return passages.

3. An elastic fluid turbine comprising a casing formed with an admission chamber and exhaust for the motive fluid, a shaft, a

rotatable wheel in said casing and secured to said shaft, a series of radially disposed and independent concentric rows of buckets on said wheel, each successive row of buckets toward center of Wheel having a progressive increase of inlet and discharge angles for the motive fluid, a diverging expanding nozzle discharging the motive fluid from the admission chamber into the outermost row of buckets at an angle to the plane of the wheel, a series of semicircular return passages arranged on the opposite side of the wheel from said nozzle to receive the motive fluid and conduct said fluid first backwardly in a direction opposite to the rotation of the wheel and then forwardly into the adj acent row of buckets at a greater angle to the plane of the wheel than said nozzle, a second series of return passages on the opposite side of the wheel from that of the first seriesof return passages and disposed in juxtaposition to the adjacent row of buckets and nearer to the center of the Wheel than the expanding nozzle, said second series of return passages arranged to receive the motive fluid from said adjacent row of buckets and conduct the same first backwardly in a direction opposite to that of the rotation of the wheel and then forwardl into the next succeeding and inwardly adjacent row of buckets at a greater angle to the plane of the wheel than the first series of return passages.

4. An' elastic fluid turbine comprising a casing formed with an admission chamber and exhaust for the motive fluid, a shaft, a rotatable wheel in said casin and secured to said shaft, a series of radlally disposed and independent concentric rows of buckets on said wheel, each successive row of buckets toward center of wheel having a progressive increase of cross sectional area and inlet and discharge angles for the motive fluid, a diverging expanding nozzle' discharging the motive fluid from the admission chamber into the outermost row of buckets at an angle to the plane of the wheel, a series of stationary semi-circular return assages arranged on the opposite side 0 the wheel from said nozzle to receive the motive fluid and conduct said fluid first backwardly in a direction opposite to the rotation of the wheel and then forwardly into the adjacent row of buckets at a greater angle to the plane of the wheel than said nozzle, a second series of return passages on the opposite side of the wheel from that of the first series of return passages and disposed in juxtaposition to the adjacent row of buckets andnearer to the center of the wheel than the- JAMES L. MOORE.

signature Witnesses: WILLIAM RAHR,

E. D. SPIoER. 

